The present invention relates to child restraint systems, and particularly to a level indicator for a child seat. More particularly, the present invention relates to a level indicator for use on a child seat that is easily and readily coupled to and uncoupled from the seat of a vehicle such as an automobile, the level indicator signalling to a care giver whether or not the child seat is properly leveled when installed in the seat of the vehicle.
Child car seats are widely accepted as a necessary appliance for transporting young children in automobiles or other vehicles. The proper installation of a child seat onto the seat of a vehicle is critical to the proper operation of the child seat. Typically, child car seats are designed to be installed having a specific rotational orientation with respect to roads that the vehicle will be travelling, and achieving the proper orientation is a necessary prerequisite to the proper installation of the child seat onto the seat of a vehicle.
Providing a level indicator to assist a user at orienting an object is widely accepted as a useful accommodation, and providing level indicators on appliances is well known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,260 to Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,075 to Weldy et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,044 to Allen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,094 to Depiano et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,888,875 to Strother, U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,994 to Weiner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,982 to Sellera, U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,944 to Burkhart, U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,681 to Hollander, U.S. Pat. No. 3,422,544 to Wyse, U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,729 to Morrison, U.S. Pat. No. 2,527,982 to Brock, U.S. Pat. No. 685,569 to Bullard, and U.S. Pat. No. 28,088 to Keeler all disclose level indicators mounted to various objects that users prefer to maintain at specific predetermined orientations. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,283 to Wise et al. discloses a level indicator mounted to a child car seat.
What is needed is an indicator to advise care givers that a child seat installed on the seat of a vehicle has or has not yet achieved the proper rotational orientation. Care givers would appreciate a conveniently placed indicator that readily and easily informs them as to whether the seat is properly oriented without requiring any specific acts by the care giver beyond glancing at the indicator to achieve an indication. Manufacturers would welcome a device requiring a minimum number of assembly parts to minimize manufacturing costs, while at the same time being mountable to various shapes and sizes of child seats so as to minimize design disruption required for facilitating the indicator.
According to the present invention, a level indicator is provided for a child seat. The level indicator includes an opaque front wall having an interior surface. An indicator member having an indicator surface is movably positioned adjacent to the interior surface. A transparent window is formed in the wall and is arranged so that the indicator surface is visible through the window when the level indicator is level. A level indicator can be fixed to a child seat and oriented so that a "level" indication received on the indicator of the child seat installed on the seat of a vehicle resting on a level surface advises the care giver that the child seat is properly oriented.
The indicator surface of the level indicator in accordance with the present invention is visible through the window when the level indicator is level. Unlike level indicators having an indicator member and a tube having graduation marks in which a level orientation is indicated by the position of the indicator member relative to the indicator marks, the indicator member of the level indicator in accordance with the present invention is visible only when the level indicator achieves a level orientation.
A care giver installing a child seat having a level indicator in accordance with the present invention onto the seat of a vehicle can simply glance at the level indicator to be advised as to the orientation of the child seat. If the indicator surface is visible, the care giver will be advised that the orientation of the child seat is correct. If the indicator surface is not visible, the care giver will be advised that the installation of the child car seat is incorrect because the child seat is not yet oriented properly. This simplicity in determining whether the proper orientation has been achieved will be appreciated by care givers.
In preferred embodiments of the level indicator, an arcuate track having a ball-receiving surface is appended to the interior surface of the front wall. A ball is movably positioned on the arcuate track and an exterior surface of the ball is the indicator surface. The transparent window formed in the front wall is arranged so that the ball is visible through the window when the level indicator is level.
In addition, the front wall can be round and formed to include a circumferential edge. An annular wall extending in a direction perpendicular to the front wall can be appended to the edge of the front wall so that the front wall and the annular wall combine to form a housing. Conveniently, the arcuate track can either be integrally appended to the annular wall or can be a separate component appended to the interior surface of the front wall.
In another embodiment, a pendulum having an indicator surface can be mounted to the interior surface of the front wall. The pendulum can be mounted to swing and have an indicator surface that drops in front of the indicator window when the level indicator is level so that the indicator surface is visible through the transparent window when the level indicator is level. As with the previous embodiment of the level indicator, the care giver can simply glance at the indicator and know that if the indicator surface is visible, the orientation of the child seat is correct.
Preferably, the front wall further includes a front edge arranged to define a rod-receiving aperture in the wall. A rod including a shaft having a first end fixed to the child seat and a second end that is integrally appended to a head is received by the rod-receiving aperture. The diameter of the head is greater than the diameter of the shaft so that a housing-engaging surface of the head is formed adjacent to the shaft.
The rod is received by the rod-receiving aperture and fixed to the child seat and the housing-engaging surface engages the front wall of the housing adjacent to the rod-receiving aperture. The housing is held to the child seat by the housing-engaging surface of the head positioned in front of the housing so that the means for adhering the housing to the child seat is located on the front of the housing.
Advantageously, the housing is designed to be mounted directly to a child seat without a back plate or any backing material interposed between the housing and the child seat. The use of an indicator window formed in an opaque wall positioned on the front of the level indicator renders markings or colorings on the child seat behind the wall or adjacent to the wall irrelevant with respect to indicating the orientation of the child seat.
Additional objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.